Cabinet or index file.



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JUNE 28, 1904. A. E. WALKER.

CABINET OR. INDEX FILE. APPLIOATION FILED SEPT.' 20. 19oz.

W UZZV no MODEL.

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y W v No. 763,704. PATENTED JUNE 28, 1904- A. E. WALKER.

CABINET OR INDEX FILE.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT, 20. 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 UNITED STATES Patented June 28, 15 904. I

PATENT OFFICE.

CABINET OR INDEX FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 763,704, dated June 28, 1904.

Application filed September 20, 1902. -Serial No. 124,196. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR ERNEST WAL- KER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at London, E. (l, in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cabinet or Index Files; and I do hereby declare the following -to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to files for receiving, holding, classifying, and indexing papers, memoranda, card-catalogues, names, or pricelists and similar written or printed matter where a special or orderly arrangement is desirable; and it has particular reference to the construction and arrangement of the receptacle for the papers, cards, &c., and the means by which they are retained in an upright position and the index-cards secured and adjusted as the contents of the receptacle increase or diminish in number, bulk, &c.

The object of the invention is to simplify the operation of inserting, replacing, and re-. moving the cards from the receptacle for cardindexes, lists, 620., and to provide for the removal and insertion of the cards without dislocating the mechanism by which they are 1e A further object of the invention is to simplify the construction, attachment, and mode of operating the card rest or follower of cardindex and document files.

The invention will first be described in con nection with the accompanying drawings and afterward particularly defined and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 of the drawings shows longitudinal sectional elevations of a file-drawer constructed and fitted according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan, and Fig. 3 a vertical section. Fig. 4 represents an index-card to be used therewith. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, and Fig. 6 an end View, of a modified form of file-drawer. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, and Fig. 8 a plan view, of another form of file suitable for holding documents. Fig. 9 represents a modified construction of the follower forming part of the in- Vention.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a drawer, such as is or may beused in a cabinet. Inside the drawer near the bottom is a locking-rod B, the ends of which are bent down at right angles to form journals that are passed through holes in the ends of the drawer and secured by a bur on the inner end, the outer end being fitted with a handle made in several forms; but the principle of the action of all consists in utilizing the elasticity of the card rest or follower to clamp it to the rod D, on which it is mounted, and hold it securely in any position to which it may be moved and to release it by compressing together the parts that clamp it to the said rod. As illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the card rest or follower is made in a single piece from tempered brass or other sheet metal possessing elasticity, the card rest and follower and the clamping attachment being thus integral parts of one another. It is substantially the shape of an inverted V, except that the apex is rounded or made approximately cylindrical in order to stiffen the spring. The sides have central projections or tongues F F, that are entered into the slot, groove, or recess E, and these tongues have perforations through them which are in exact alinement when the sides are compressed together. The rod D is passed through the perforations before its ends are secured, and by this means the card-rest is mounted on the rod. The bottom edges of the tongues and also the card-rest are turned upward, so that the follower will move easily without undue friction against the bottom of the drawer when moved back and forth to adjust it with relation to the cards in the drawer. This adjustment is effected by first compressing the sides together until they are practically parallel, whereby the centers of the perforations through the tongues are brought in line with the center of the rod D, whereupon the cardrest can be moved freely backward or forward on the rod; but as soon as it is released the sides automatically spring apart and the center of the holes rising their edges clasp or grip the rod D, and thus hold the follower firmly in the place to which it is moved.

Curved slots F are made in the sides of the follower, through which the locking-bar B works when turned for the insertion or removal of a card or cards.

The index-cards G are also formed with a curved slot G, corresponding to the slots F with an enlarged center or otherwise, for the locking-bar.

hen a card is to be inserted in the drawer, the locking-bar is turned downward by means of the handle C, whereby it passes down the slot F in the follower and also to the open ends of the slots G in the cards already in the drawer and takes a position at right angles to its former position (shown in Fig. 1) close to the bottom of the drawer. )7 I/Vhile in this position additional cards can be placed in the drawer or cards can be taken out, as the slots are in such a position that the lockingbar does not interfere, and when the additions have been made or the cards removed the locking-bar is turned to its former position, and passing upward to the upper ends of the curved slots the cards are locked in the drawer. As the cards increase the follower is moved back to accommodate them, and when some of them are removed it is moved up against the remainder to retain them in an upright position, which is necessary in a device of this kind, where they can be put in or taken out without dislocating the mechanism.

In the form of file shown by Figs. 5 and 6 the ends of the drawer are provided with curved slots A, extending from the top downward and inward, where they terminate just above the bottom of the drawer, as illustrated by one end of the drawer shown in Fig. 6. The locking-bar B is straight and its ends that project through the slots have knobs by means of which it is lifted bodily through the slots A when a card is to be moved or placed in the drawer. The cards used with this binder have a curved slot in them corresponding to the curved slots A in the ends of the drawer.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate an application of the invention to a document-file. F is the adjustable follower for holding the documents upright and compressed together. In the former application of the principle the follower and clamping parts are integral parts of one another, but in the application of it now under consideration they are separate, the follower being a rectangular plate. This plate has a rod I passed through it transversely, and

midway in line with the rod there is a rectangular recess j, in which is inserted the eye K1 on the upper curved end of a clamp consisting of two plates F F. The rod F is passed through the eye la, and the follower h is thus hung on the clamp. The lower ends of the parts F F of the clamp are perforated to receive the stationary rod D, on which the clamp is movably mounted. A screw F connects the parts F F and is used to draw them together to release their grip on the rod when it is desired to shift the position of the follower. elasticity when the screw is withdrawn, and thus grip the rod and hold the follower securely in any position to which it may be moved. The action of this clamp is substantially the same as the combined clamp and follower first described; but the clamp-screw is provided to facilitate releasing the clamp when the follower is to be adjusted.

Fig. 9 showsa follower I, made of wood and provided with a spring F placed between the two sides to cause them to separate and clamp the rod. The perforations for the rod D are indicated by the dotted lines.

I claim- 1. In cabinet or index files the combination with a receptacle for cards, papers, &c., of a spring V-shaped follower perforated projections integral with said follower and a stationary rod on which the perforated projections are threaded and that grip the said rod by their elasticity and hold the follower in place and release it when the sides of the folliorger are compressed, substantially as speci- 2. In cabinet or index files the combination with a receptacle for cards papers, &c. of a V- shaped follower having curved slots through its sides, perforated projections integral with the said follower, a stationary rod on which the perforated projections are threaded and that grip the said rod, and, a vibratory locking-bar supported in the ends of the receptacle and passed through the curved slots in the sides of the follower, substantially as specified.

3. In cabinet or index files the combination with a receptacle for cards, papers, &c., of a spring V-shaped follower having curved slots through its sides, perforated projections, integral with said follower, a stationary rod on which the perforated projections are threaded and that grip the said rod and a Vibratory locking-bar supported in the ends of the receptacle and passed through the curved slots in the sides of the follower, substantially as specified.

4. In cabinet or index files the combination of a drawer having a recess in its bottom, a spring V-shaped follower havingcurved slots The two parts separate by their own ary rod on which the perforated projections are threaded and that grip the said rod by their elasticity and hold the follower in place, and, a screw in the spring projections for compressing them to cause them to release the rod, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I have afiixed my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ARTHUR ERNEST WALKER.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS W. FRIGOUT, R. WVEsTAooTT. 

